Alumni

2012 Hall of Fame Inductees

School of Business

Walter “Walt” Knepper graduated from SIUE in 1969 with a B.S./B.A degree in accounting. He joined Arthur Andersen LLP straight out of college. That led to a long and distinguished career with over 40 years of experience in tax planning and business advisory services that range from start-ups and entrepreneurial businesses to public companies. Walt is a member of the SIUE Foundation Board of Directors, and a Lifetime member of the SIUE Alumni Association. He also serves as the chairman of the SIUE School of Business Advisory Board.

James “Jim” Schlueter came to SIUE after earning a degree in journalism from the University of Illinois. Here he was awarded an MBA in 1984. Jim has made a career in corporate communications, currently serving as the Director of Communications for Engineering, Operations, and Technology at the Boeing Company’s corporate offices in Chicago. He has also served as mentor to a number of communicators across the globe with special emphasis on helping young journalism/communications/English students consider a career in corporate communications.

Diane Ryan earned her Bachelors in Accounting in 1978. That degree was awarded with high honors. She added an MBA from SIUE in 1980. Since graduating from SIUE, Diane has had a remarkable career, graduating magna cum laude with her J.D. from the St. Louis University School of Law. Her professional career has included private practice, and nearly three decades public service in one of the largest governmental agencies in the United States, as well as teaching at the SIUE School of Business and the St. Louis University Law School. Diane is a tax litigation attorney with a Chicago law firm.

College of Arts & Sciences

Deborah Barylski – 1971 BA Theater

Deborah Barylski (B.A. in Theater, 1971) is an Emmy-Award-winning casting director whose career spans three decades. She won an Emmy for casting “Arrested Development,” and also received an ARTIOS award for her work with that show. She has been nominated for an ARTIOS seven times. Other well-known credits include “Home Improvement," “The Middle,” “Just Shoot Me,” and “Frank’s Place.” She also cast the feature “Pastime,” which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 1990. She has served as an acting teacher, business manager, publicity director, box office manager and festival director in theater, dance and film, and directed theater productions in Michigan, Illinois, California and Alaska. She has also been a faculty member of California State University, Long Beach, and a guest artist at DePaul University in Chicago, Ball State University, James Madison University, and Illinois State University, among others.

Barylski takes pride in her successful efforts to get the casting directors’ profession unionized, which took place in early 2006. She holds a Master’s Degree in Directing and Theater Management from Illinois State University, and professional memberships in The Casting Society of America, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the Teamsters.

Dr. Eric B. Kmiec is widely recognized for his pioneering work in the fields of molecular medicine and gene repair. Throughout his professional career, Dr. Kmiec led research teams in developing genetic therapies for inherited disorders such as Sickle Cell Disease. He is the recipient of multiple research awards from the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, and private foundations including the 2012 Proudford Foundation Unsung Hero Research Award. He has authored over 140 scientific publications, holds eighteen issued and licensed patents, and has founded two biotechnology companies; Kimeragen and OrphageniX. Dr. Kmiec is highly respected as a teacher and mentor to undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, almost all of whom have followed in his footsteps and currently also work in the area of genetic medicine. Dr. Kmiec became Chairman of the Department of Chemistry at Delaware State University in 2011 after being honored as an Eminent Scholar at Marshall University in 2008, where he was also the founding director of the Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research. Dr. Kmiec earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida and has held professorships at the University of California at Davis, Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Delaware.

Peter Maer was inspired to be a reporter while watching the coverage of the President Kennedy Assassination. He became a member of the first class of SIUE Mass Communications majors, graduating in 1970. Peter has been a voice for national news for more than a quarter of a century, serving as a White House correspondent since 1986. He has provided coverage on presidential politics, major national and international disasters with honors including the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award, four Merriman Smith Awards for Presidential Coverage and the Overseas Press Award. He was named Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 1995 and was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from SIUE in 2007.

Eugene Redmond earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from SIUE in 1964. He would go on to become an internationally acclaimed poet and organizers. For more than 40 years, Eugene has been a prominent contributor to literary and cultural endeavors, who has authored or edited more than 25 volumes of poetry and collections of diverse writings. He has collaborated on arts projects with prominent artists like Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Katherine Dunham. He is the recipient of the American Book Award and a Sterling A. Brown Lifetime Achievement Award, among others. In 2008, SIUE awarded him an honorary doctorate in humane letters degree.

Clinton “Clint” Van Zandt has literally saved hundreds of lives. The Granite City native earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from SIUE in 1971 after returning from service in Vietnam as a U.S. Army counter-intelligence agent. After graduation he started a 25 year career with the FBI and retired as its Chief Hostage Negotiator and Supervisor of the Behavioral Science Unit. He has traveled the world in response to international hostage situations and provided psychological profiles to law enforcement around the world. He has authored dozens of professional articles, appeared as an expert commentator on more than 3,000 TV programs, and regularly consults for movies and TV shows. He recounts his life as a profiler and hostage negotiator in his book “Facing down Evil.” He was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from SIUE in 2011.

School of Dental Medicine

Dr. W.H. Milligan III – 1979 DMD

W.H. Milligan III, PhD, D.M.D., is now serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. He most recently served the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine as the Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs. Shortly after earning his Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Milligan began his career as a faculty member at the SIU School of Dental Medicine in 1972, prior to the enrollment of the first class of dental students at the new dental school. He helped develop the curriculum and played a role in the education of the first graduating classes. Unique to Dr. Milligan’s story, after serving as faculty member at the dental school for four years, he decided to enter the dental school as a student, and he obtained his D.M.D. from the SIU School of Dental Medicine in 1979.

School of Education

Jennifer Filyaw earned her MSEd from SIUE in 1999 and quickly found herself using the Education Administration skills. After three years of teaching, she was named a school principal in the Shiloh, Illinois, School district. Just four years later, she became the youngest school superintendent in the state of Illinois when the district selected her after a nationwide search. Jennifer was named to the Top 40 under 40 by the Illinois Business Journal in 2010 and has been recognized nationally for her efforts in dealing with a controversial censorship issue. Her district has received the Bright Star Award for five consecutive years.

Dr. Ed Hightower – 1974 BS Physical Education; 1977 MSED

Dr. Ed Hightower has earned three degrees from SIUE: a 1974 BS in physical education, an MSEd in 1977, and a Specialist Degree in 1991. Ed’s relationship with SIUE is a lifelong one. He has served as the superintendent of the Edwardsville School District for 16 years, being widely recognized for his efforts as the first African-American superintendent in the district’s history. His awards as a school principal include the 1993 National Distinguished Principals Award. He has made a lifetime commitment to SIUE, serving as Vice Chair of the SIU Board of Trustees, a member of the SIUE Alumni Association Board of Directors, and Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee. He is also a nationally recognized, award-winning NCAA basketball official.

Dr. Arthur “Art” Menendez graduated from SIUE with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 1975. He would go on to become a renowned vision research scientist with the United States Air Force. His cutting-edge research on visual psychophysics was geared toward making aviation safer for pilots. During a short but prolific career, Dr. Menendez authored or co-wrote more than 20 publications. His research was particularly relevant for combat pilots, but also was widely used in the field of medicine. One of the handbooks he wrote on how to treat eye injuries resulting from lasers was widely used by the U.S. military and its allies during Operation Desert Storm. Although it has been more than 20 years since his untimely death, much of Dr. Menendez’s research is still classified due to national security reasons.

School of Engineering

Kenneth Cates earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Construction in 1996. He is currently the Executive Vice-President of Northstar Management Company, a firm he co-founded. Ken is a Certified Healthcare Constructor who has developed educational programs for healthcare owners, architects, and contractors, chaired design and construction planning meetings for national conferences, and has given countless hours to enhance the process of planning, design, and construction of healthcare facilities. In more than years in the industry, Ken has worked on over one thousand projects with a lifetime value of more than three billion dollars. In 2009, he was awarded the Crystal Eagle Award from the ASHE of the American Hospital Association, recognizing him for his excellent leadership qualities, innovation and overall contribution to ASHE.

Dr. Kurt Smith is an engineer and entrepreneur who started his first company while a student at SIUE. Since then he has founded 15 different ventures and is currently the Global Vice-President of New Growth Platforms at Covidien, a $10 billion medical technology company that provides surgical and therapeutic products. Smith, who earned his Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering in 1985 and a Master’s in Electrical Engineering in 1986, earned a Doctor of Science Degree in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. His work revolutionized the operating room, enabling surgeons to actually see where they are in real time on MRI and CT images displayed in the operating room.

School of Nursing

Donna Meyer earned her BSN in 1978 and went to work as a pediatric staff nurse in Missouri and Illinois. After earning her MSN in 1982, she began a 30-year career as a leader and innovator of the nursing profession. Donna is president of the National Organization for Associate Degree Nursing, where she strives to foster advancement of nursing education on a national level. Her efforts led her to the White House in June 2014, where she participated in a discussion about “Improving Care Quality and Patient Health.” She also has served on the National League for Nursing and the American Nurses Association. In 30 years with the nursing program at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, Donna has substantially grown the program while maintaining a strong collaborative relationship with the SIUE School of Nursing, being recognized on local, state, and national levels for her level of excellence.